Ishizu Ishtar
by Dennis Fielder
Summary: When Seto Kaiba of a new batch of British settles arrive in the New World colony of Virgina, he meets and falls in love with a native named Ishizu. This fan-fic mixes Yu-Gi-Oh! with Pocahontas.
1. The Virginia Company

Thank you for being so patient, and now without further ado, here's my next story. Also, sorry for using a lot of your casting again. It just fit too well.

Disclaimer: Pocahontas belongs to Disney and Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to 4Kids and Toei Animation, and the casting of Thomas, John Smith, and Pocahontas belongs to AnimeAngelGirl15

**Ishizu Ishtar**

Chapter 1: The Virginia Company

_In 1607,_

_We sailed the open sea._

_For glory, god, and gold,_

_And the Virginia Company._

_For the new world is like heaven,_

_And we'll all be rich and free._

_Or so we have been told_

_By the Virginia Company._

_So we have been told_

_By the Virginia Company._

In the port of London, England, several of the sailors were preparing to go to the New World to seek their fortune. Some men promised to call for their children as soon as they settled in the colony of Virginia. One, Mokuba, was making a new life for himself after recently turning eighteen. He hugged his mother good-bye, shook his father's hand in farewell, and ruffled the hair of his little sister.

_For glory, god, and gold,_

_And the Virginia Company._

As Mokuba got onto the boat, he saw a man with piercing blue eyes, light brown hair, and a purple jacket.

"Hey look." A man with long white hair said. He had brown eyes and looked fairly friendly. "Is that Kaiba?"

"That's him alright, the old sea dog." Said a man who appeared to be his brother in a much rougher voice.

"Captain Seto Kaiba?" Mokuba asked in awe. "I've heard some amazing stories about him."

"Is he coming on this voyage too?" The first man asked.

"Of course he is, you half-wit." The second man said with a sneer. "You can't go fighting Indians without Seto Kaiba."

"That's right." Kaiba said as he grabbed a rope pulling in some cargo and come up with it before jumping down on the deck. "I'm not about to let you guys hog all the fun."

_On the beaches of Virginie,_

_There's diamonds like the sea._

_And silver rivers flow with gold, _

_You pick right off a tree._

_With a nugget for my Whiney._

_And another one for me._

_And all the rest will_

_Go to the Virginia Company._

Just before the ship left, the person in charge of the expedition, Maximillion Pegasus arrived. His long white hair hung over his left eye, so no one could see it. He was dressed in an elaborate red suit with a black undershirt to match his pants.

_For glory god, and gold,_

_And the Virginia Company!_

Mokuba waved good-bye to his family as the ship took off, and Mokuba notice Captain Kaiba leaning against a post and watching the sky.

()()()()()

The storm appeared out of nowhere.

Within moments, the entire crew was fighting for control of the ship.

They barely managed to reef the sails as water flooded onto the ship.

Mokuba was tying down the cannons, so they wouldn't lose them when the rope snapped, and Mokuba had to hold it steady himself.

"SETO!" Mokuba called out. "Get down here! The cannons are breaking lose!"

Kaiba heard Mokuba and jumped down to help.

"Reef the topsails!" Kaiba shouted as he helped Mokuba retie down the cannon. "It's alright, Mokuba, we'll get her tied off."

Suddenly, a large wave came over the ship.

"Look out!" Kaiba called out, but too late. Mokuba was swept overboard.

"HELP!" Mokuba called out.

"Pull the pin." Kaiba said as he tied a rope around his waist. They did that, and Kaiba dived down into the water.

"Kaiba, are you crazy?" Bakura shouted out, but Kaiba ignored him.

"Hold on, Mokuba!" Kaiba called out. "I've got you!"

Kaiba grabbed Mokuba, and began to pull himself and Mokuba back to the ship with the rope, but he suddenly felt it give too much and heard Bakura's brother Ryou shout, "Quick, get the rope!"

The rope became taut again, and Kaiba pulled himself and Mokuba back to the ship as Ryou, Bakura, and several other sailors pulled them up.

More than once, Kaiba and Mokuba ended up under water, but eventually, they were pulled up just as the storm passed.

"Well that's a lucky lad." Bakura said.

"That was refreshing." Kaiba said with a smirk.

"Well done, Kaiba." Ryou said with a smile.

"I'm sure you'd all do the same for me." Kaiba said, still smirking.

"Oh sure." Bakura said nervously.

"Definitely." Ryou said.

Suddenly, Pegasus appeared with the last bolt of lightning the storm gave as it left, accompanied by his servant, Weevil, and his dogboy, Joey.

"Trouble on deck?" Pegasus asked.

"Governor Pegasus!" Mokuba said as he stood up.

"Mokuba fell overboard, sir." Kaiba said stiffly. Something about this guy made Kaiba nervous.

"Well thank heavens he's been successfully retrieved." Pegasus said. "Well done, Kaiba-Boy."

"Thank you, sir." Kaiba said curtly.

"Don't lose heart, men!" Pegasus called out like a motivational speaker. "It won't be long before we reach the New World, and remember what awaits us there. Freedom, prosperity, and the adventure of a lifetime."

"Yeah!" Joey called out, and everyone looked at him funny. "Uh… Sorry, I get worked up easily."

"You're the greatest crew England has to offer." Pegasus stated as Mokuba just watched and Kaiba huffed at the old wind-bag. "And nothing, not rain, not sleet, not even blood thirsty savages shall stand in our way. Carry on!"

()()()()()

As Pegasus left, Weevil kept an umbrella over him to keep the last of the rain from his suit.

"A stirring oration sir." Weevil said. "I'm sure the men were exhiler-AYYYYY-ted!"

Weevil stretched the "A" due to a wind picking up, and his being blown away from Pegasus, but he didn't mind that much. The rain had already stopped.

"Let us hope so." Pegasus said with a chuckle. "I need those witless peasants to dig up my gold."

"Yeash." Joey muttered, and Pegasus knew Joey only went along with this because he had to… Unless he wanted his widowed mother and his sister to starve.

Kaiba tossed some rope to Mokuba as they took time to tie down a cannon.

"This new world's gonna be great, Seto." Mokuba said. "I'll get a pile of gold, build me a huge house, and if any Indian tries to stop me, I'll blast him!"

"Just worry about that future fortune of yours, Mokuba." Seto said as they finished off. "Leave the savages to me."

"You think they'll give us much trouble?" Ryou asked.

"Trouble?" Bakura said with a sneer. "Not as much trouble as Kaiba will give them."

"_We'll kill ourselves an injun, or maybe two or three!_" Kaiba called out as he pulled out his sword and pierced the beer barrel with it.

"_We're stalwart men in the folds of the Virginia Company._" They all called out as they drank while Mokuba and Kaiba climbed up to the crow's nest.

"What do you think the New World will look like?" Mokuba asked.

"Like all the others I've seen." Kaiba said. "I've seen hundreds of New Worlds Mokuba. What could possibly be different about this one?"

* * *

Well we all know the answer to that, don't we? Also, a new poll's up.


	2. Steady as the Beating Drum

Chapter 2: Steady as the Beating Drum

Meanwhile, far away in what would one day be Virginia, the natives of the land were going about their daily lives.

_Hega. Hega._

_Ya-hi-ye-hega._

_Ya-hi-ye-ne-he. Hega._

A blast from a watcher's horn sounded the return of the warriors from their war with the Masawamics.

_Hega. Hega._

_Ya-hi-ye-hega._

_Ya-hi-ye-ne-he. __Hega._

The woman who picked the maze quickened their work or else took a break to welcome home their husbands and fathers and sons.

_Steady as the beating drum,_

_Singing to the cedar flute._

_Seasons go and seasons come._

_Bring the corn and bear the fruit._

The men who had stayed to assist the women were catching fish when they waved to the passing boats.

_By the waters, sweat and clean,_

_Where the mighty sturgeon is._

_Plant the squash and reap the beans._

_All the earth our Mother gives._

Everyone, either relaxing or working put what they were doing aside to see the returning heroes.

_O, Great Spirit, hear our song._

_Help us keep the ancient ways._

_Keep the sacred fire strong._

_Walk in balance all our days._

The chief's brother, Aknadin, was amusing the children with images of animals he created with the smoke, but upon seeing his brother and the other warriors return, he went to see them with the children.

_Seasons go and seasons come._

_Steady as the beating drum._

_Plum to seed to bud to plum… __(Hega. Hega. Ya-hi-ye-hega.)_

_Steady as the beating drum._

The chief, Aknamkanon walked out with his son, Atem, and several other warriors. The wives of the warriors flung their arms around their husbands. The children hugged their fathers, and everyone welcomed the chief and his son.

"Hello brother." Aknadin said with a wide smile as Atem was being hugged to death by his betrothed wife, Mana.

"Hello Aknadin." Aknamkanon said with a smile. "It's good to be home. Attention!"

Everyone looked up, and Mana let go of Atem, who gasped hard but smiled.

"The Masawamics are defeated!" Aknamkanon called out. "With the help of our brothers, our villages are safe again!"

Everyone cheered.

"Your return has brought much joy to the village, Aknamkanon." Aknadin said with a smile. "Look at all the smiling faces."

He gestured to two young children running to a young warrior as his wife walked up as well.

"Yes, but there's one smiling face I don't see." Aknamkanon said as he looked around. "Where's my daughter?"

"You know Ishizu." Aknadin said with a smile as Mana kissed Atem good-bye to go look for her. "She has her mother's spirit. She goes wherever the wind takes her."

* * *

Well… This is starting to look familiar.

Mana: Hey Doug, do you know where Ishizu is?

Doug: Not a clue.


	3. Just Around the River Bend

Chapter 3: Just Around the River Bend

Ishizu was standing on a cliff side on top of a large waterfall as she felt the wind in her face and hair, her mother was saying hello.

"ISHIZU!" Ishizu's best friend Mana shouted from far down below, and Ishizu looked down to see her. "Your father's back! Get down here!"

Suddenly, what looked like a little wad of fur with four stubby legs and large blue eyes appeared.

"He's back, Kuriboh!" Ishizu said as she smiled at one of her Ka friends. She then ran to where her little brother, Marik was sleeping.

"Ladies, please, you'll all get my autograph." Marik said sleepily as Ishizu ran up. "Marik, Father's back!"

"Oh that's nice." Marik said as he rolled over, and Ishizu picked him up by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him off as Kuriboh squeaked at him.

"Come on, Marik!" Ishizu said. "Wake up!"

"Oh…" Marik said as he finally opened his eyes. "Wait, Father's back?"

"Yes." Ishizu said. "It's what I meant when I said, 'Father's back!'"

"Oh." Marik said. "Well let's go."

Ishizu then ran towards the edge and jumped down.

"No, don't come down that way!" Mana shouted, but Ishizu didn't listen.

She did a graceful swan dive and came down.

"Show off." Mana said with a smile.

()()()()()

Marik jumped down too, but he did it without realizing how far up it was.

"Here I- OH MY MOTHER!" He then grabbed onto a floating down Kuriboh as he splashed into the river.

()()()()()

Mana was starring down at the river in worry.

"Ishizu?" Mana asked. "Ishizu, are you okay? You better be because I'm not coming in after-AHH!"

Ishizu tossed the boat over and Mana appeared spitting out water as Ishizu appeared as well.

"Don't you think we're getting kind of old for this?" Mana asked, and Ishizu spit water in her face, and the two girls then had a splash fight under the capsized boat.

()()()()()

Meanwhile, Marik climbed onto the boat for something to hold onto as he gasped.

"I've gotta remember not to do that!" Marik groaned.

"Kuri, kuri!" Kuriboh said angrily.

"Ah, shut up!" Marik said when the boat began to turn over.

"Oh… No, no, no!" Marik then ended up under the water again as Ishizu pulled him out.

"Marik, are you okay?" Ishizu asked.

"No!" Marik said. "Geez, why can't you be a bit more composed?"

"Sorry." Ishizu said with a smile.

"What were you doing up there?" Mana asked.

"Thinking." Ishizu said with a smile.

"About the dream again?" Mana asked. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

"I know it means something, I just don't know what." Ishizu said as Kuriboh appeared very soggy.

"You should talk to your father about it." Mana suggested.

"Maybe I should." Ishizu said.

"Okay, but first, could we dry off Kuriboh?" Marik asked. "He's already starting to stink."

"Marik!" Ishizu said.

"What?" Marik asked. It was a legitimate request. What was Ishizu doing being so huffy.

()()()()()

"The battle lasted from when the sun rose to when the evening shadows crept across the land." Aknamkanon said as the girls, and Marik and Kuriboh, arrived. "Our warriors fought with courage, but only Seto fought as bravely as my son, Atem."

Seto stood there with his arms crossed in his deer skin pants and wristbands.

"He attacked with the fierce strength of a bear." Aknamkanon continued as Aknadin placed bear paw marks on both halves of Seto's chest. "He has proven himself time and time again that one can ascend to greatness without being born to it."

"Seto!" Atem called out.

"SETO!" Everyone else called.

"Man, Seto's handsome." Mana said.

"So says the woman engaged to my big brother." Ishizu said with a smile.

"Well…" Mana said nervously. "Well I mean I wouldn't wanna marry him. The guy's to stiff for me."

"No kidding." Ishizu said. "I feel sorry for the poor soul he traps."

"Heh-heh." Mana nervously laughed.

"Tonight, we'll feast in his honor!" Aknamkanon called out, and everyone cheered. After the crowd parted, Ishizu ran up to Aknamkanon.

"My daughter." Aknamkanon said with a smile.

"Wingabo, Father." Ishizu said with a smile.

"Seeing you gives me great joy." Aknamkanon said with a smile.

"Hey, what about me?" Marik asked.

"You as well, Marik." Aknamkanon said with a smile.

"My little sister and brother, are you two?" Atem asked.

"Better than Mana." Ishizu said slyly. "She's been crying her eyes out every day since you left."

"Ah, you tattle-tale!" Mana shouted.

"I'm glad both of you came back safely myself." Ishizu said.

"Come with me. We have much to talk about." Aknamkanon said, and Ishizu left with her father. "I want to hear everything you've been doing."

()()()()()

"Ooh, something big is gonna happen." Marik said as he picked in through a hole in his father's tent.

"Father, for many nights now, I've been having this very strange dream." Ishizu said. "I think it's telling me something's about to happen. Something exciting."

"Yes, something exciting is about to happen." Aknamkanon said with a smile.

"Really?" Ishizu asked. "What is it?"

"Seto has asked for your hand in marriage."

"Marry Seto?" Ishizu asked.

"Ew." Marik said from his hiding place.

"I told him it would make my heart soar." Aknamkanon said.

Marik saw Ishizu smile very, very forcibly.

"But he's so… Serious." Ishizu said, and Marik had to agree as he saw Seto standing there like a statue as children tugged on the sash he wore around his pants.

"My daughter," Aknamkanon said. "Seto will make a fine husband. He is loyal and strong, and he will build you a good house with sturdy walls. With him, you will be safe from harm."

"Father, I think my dream is pointing me down another path." Ishizu said.

"This is the right path for you." Aknamkanon said.

"Oh dear." Marik said as he knelt in some more, but he accidentally ended up falling through the tent. "Hi." He said nervously.

"You little mischief maker." Ishizu said with a smile.

"Ishizu," Aknamkanon said. "Come with me. You are the daughter of the chief. It's time you took your place among our people."

He led Ishizu to the river, only a few steps from his tent.

"Even the mild mountain stream must someday join the big river."

_As the river cuts his path,_

_Though the river's proud and strong,_

_He will choose the smoothest course._

_That's why rivers live so long._

_They're steady…_

_As the steady beating drum._

Aknamkanon then pulled out a necklace from his pocket. It was made of blue stones with a diamond shaped and colored stone in the middle.

"Your mother wore this at our wedding." Aknamkanon said as he stared at the necklace nostalgically. "It was her dream to see you wear it at yours."

Aknamkanon then placed the necklace on Ishizu's neck, and she looked at it and smiled.

"It suits you." Aknamkanon said with a smile before he walked off.

()()()()()

Ishizu was by her boat when Marik came back from checking with his friends who had gone off to the war.

"So that belonged to Mother, huh?" Marik said. "That's cool."

"Father wants me to be steady." Ishizu said. "Like the river."

Suddenly two otters appeared and swan away.

"But it's not steady at all." Ishizu said with a smile.

_What I love most about rivers is,_

_You can't step in the same river twice._

_The water's always changing,_

_Always flowing._

_But people I guess,_

_Can't live like that._

_We all must pay a price._

_Do we safely lose our chance of ever knowing…_

_What's around the river bend?_

_Just around the river bend?_

_I look once more, _

_Just around the river bend!_

_Where the gulls fly free!_

_Don't know what for,_

_What I dream the day might send,_

_Just around the river bend,_

_For me…_

_Coming for me…_

She paddled through a flock of seagulls and followed down the river with trees bordering both sides.

_I feel that there beyond those trees,_

_Or just behind these waterfalls,_

_Can I ignore that sound of distant drumming?_

_For a handsome sturdy husband,_

_To build handsome sturdy walls,_

_And never dream that something might be coming,_

_Just around the river bend._

_Just around the river bend!_

As they passed another bend, they saw a waterfall, and Ishizu let the river take them down it as she smiled, and it turned out only to be a short drop with a wild rocky ride at the bottom.

_I look once more,_

_Just around the river bend!_

_Beyond the shore,_

_Somewhere past the sea,_

_Don't know what for!_

_Why do all my dreams extend,_

_Just beyond the river bend?_

_Just beyond the river bend!_

She arrived at a fork in the river, and she felt that it was representing her choice.

_Should I choose the smoothest course?_

_Steady as the beating drum?_

_Should I marry, Seto? Um…_

_Is all my dreaming at an end?_

_Or do you still wait for me, dream giver…_

_Just… Around… The river… Bend. . ._

Ishizu went right to the wisest person she knew.

* * *

That song is my second favorite just because it's so freaking cool!


	4. Listen with Your Heart

Chapter 4: Listen with Your Heart

Ishizu followed the narrow and winding course to an old willow tree where the spirit of an old friend of her mothers, Isis, dwelt. Several small animals swarmed around Ishizu as she arrived.

"Oh, I'm tired." Marik said with a yawn.

"You're always tired." Ishizu said with a smile.

"Is that my little Ishizu?" A voice just like her own said, and the spirit of her grandmother, Isis appeared out of the tree. She looked just like Ishizu is only in different clothes.

"Grandmother Isis, I need to talk to you." Ishizu said.

"Good morning, dear." Isis said as she knelt down. "I was hoping you'd stop by today. Oh, my! Your mother's necklace. I still remember the day your father gave it to her."

"It's what I wanted to talk to you about." Ishizu said. "My father wants me to marry Seto."

"Seto?" Isis asked. "Are you kidding? He's so serious."

"I know." Ishizu. "My father thinks it's the right path for me, but lately, I've been having this dream, and I think it's-"

"Oh, a dream?" Isis said. "Tell me all about it."

"Yeah!" Marik said. "You never told any of us except Mana about it! Tell us, tell us, tell us!"

"Marik, calm down, young man." Isis said firmly as a tree root came up, picked Marik up and set him down on an outgrown part of the stump Ishizu was sitting on.

All the animals were on Marik's side and chirped to hear it.

"Quiet!" Isis called out, and when a frog made a badly timed croak, Isis looked at him, and he jumped into the water for protection. "You were saying, dear?"

"Well," Ishizu said. "I'm running through the woods, and then right there in front of me is an arrow. As I look at it, it starts to spin."

"A spinning arrow?" Isis asked.

"That'd make a great party game." Marik said slyly before he got slapped in the behind by a branch. "Ouch!"

"Yes, it was very unusual." Ishizu said. "It spins around faster and faster and faster and fast until suddenly, it stops."

"That's it?" Marik asked as he got a very dizzy Kuriboh as it turned around and around to imitate the arrow. "You've been going on about a spinning arrow?"

"Hush, boy." Isis said, and Marik bowed his head as Isis turned to Ishizu. "It seems to me that this spinning arrow is pointing you down your path."

"But what is my path?" Ishizu asked. "How am I supposed to find it?"

"Your mother asked me the very same questions when she was about to marry your father." Isis said with a smile.

"She did?" Ishizu asked. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her to listen." Isis said. "Spirits are all around you, Ishizu. They live in the Earth, in the water, in the sky, if you listen, they will guide you."

_Ay-ay-ay-ya._

"I hear the wind." Ishizu said.

"Yes, what's it telling you?" Isis asked.

"I don't know." Ishizu said. "I don't understand it."

_Que, que, na-to-ra._

_You will understand._

_Listen with your heart._

_You will understand._

The wind suddenly came down around Ishizu, and she closed her eyes, trying to listen.

_Let it break upon you,_

_Like a wave upon the sand._

_Listen with your heart._

_You will understand._

"_You will understand._" A familiar voice said as Ishizu suddenly heard what the wind was saying.

"It's saying something is coming!" Ishizu said. "Strange… Clouds?"

Ishizu climbed up with Marik and Kuriboh.

"What do you kids see?" Isis asked.

"Clouds." Ishizu asked as she looked at the fine-edged, non-billowing, rectangular clouds that were coming. "Strange clouds."

()()()()()

Pegasus opened it.

"Look at it, Weevil." Pegasus said as he smiled. "An entire new world chocked full of gold. Just waiting for me."

"And stores of adventures waiting for us!" Joey said with a smile. "Aint dat right, Weevil?"

"Do you think we'll meet some savages?" Weevil asked.

"If we do, we'll be sure to give them a proper English greeting." Pegasus said.

"Gift baskets?" Weevil asked.

"A fist fight?" Joey asked as well.

"And Weevil-boy came so highly recommended." Pegasus said as he pulled out a map of what they knew of Virginia.

"It's perfect conditions, Governor." Kaiba said as he suddenly walked in. "The water's deep enough, and we can pull right up to shore." Kaiba then smirked at Joey. "So, being a good dog for your masters, Wheeler?"

"Watch it Kaiba, or you're goin' back ta England without any teeth!" Joey said as he grabbed Kaiba's jacket, but Kaiba just smirked.

"Nice grip, let me show you, mine." Kaiba grabbed Joey's hand and tossed him to the ground.

"Very well then." Pegasus said in order to avoid a fight. "Give the order."

"Already done." Kaiba said. "I've got a crew assembled, and we're ready to go."

"About the natives," Pegasus said moodily as he didn't like people giving orders he was supposed to give. "I'm counting on _you_ to make sure those filthy heathens don't disrupt our mission."

"If they're anything like the savages I've thought before, it's nothing I can't handle." Kaiba said with a smirk.

"Right." Pegasus said as he smiled at well. Kaiba made the perfect patsy. "That'll be all, Kaiba-boy."

"Alright." Kaiba said. "Later Wheeler."

"Man would I love ta just get five minutes alone with that guy." Joey said through his teeth.

"The men like Kaiba, don't they?" Pegasus asked rhetorically. "I've never been a popular man.

"I like you." Weevil said.

"Suck up." Joey countered.

"And don't think I don't know what those back-stabbers at court say about me!" Pegasus said angrily as he moved his hair to look at the excess skin that covered his right eye socket, having lost it as a child.

"Oh, ya mean all dat talk about being a pathetic social climber who's failed in everything he's-?" Joey asked.

"I'm aware that this is my last chance for glory, Wheeler!" Pegasus shouted. "But mark my words you two, when King Dartz sees the gold these peasants unearth, success will be mine at last."

Pegasus then smiled darkly as he repositioned his hair back over the right side of his face.

* * *

Dum-dum-DUM!


	5. Mine

Chapter 5: Mine

Ryou and Mokuba looked out as the life boats were lowered.

"It's incredible." Ryou said in awe.

"And it's all ours." Mokuba added. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It could look like Pegasus' necklace for all I care as long as we can get off this stinking boat!" Bakura said as he tossed down a ladder to the life boats.

Kaiba was the first down.

"Come on men." Kaiba said. "We didn't come all this way just to look at it."

()()()()()

Kaiba got a boat to himself, Ryou, Bakura, and Mokuba as they rowed to shore. They all stared at it, and Kaiba suddenly felt that there was something different about_ this_ New World. He just didn't quite know what.

()()()()()

Ishizu rushed to see what the ships were.

"Hey!" Marik called out as he gasped. "Hey wait up!"

Ishizu stopped by a rock, well hidden and saw several strange people. They were extremely pale. Two had white hair, one had black, and the other had light brown. The first one she got a good look at was the light-brown haired man. He had piercing blue eyes. His face reminded Ishizu strongly of Seto's, but his expression was much easier to read. She didn't know why, but he made her feel… Funny. She felt at once that he was willing to help anyone who was in need and then joke good-naturedly about it afterwards.

()()()()()

The crew pulled the ship to the shore.

"Alright, we just have to tie her off." Ryou said.

"Hey Seto, could you tie up this…" Mokuba said when he turned around, and no one was there. "Seto?"

Mokuba looked up and saw Kaiba climbing up a tree that a large rock rested on.

"Seto, what are you doing up there?" Mokuba asked.

"Getting a better look." Kaiba said.

()()()()()

As the man who looked like Seto looked at the sea, she noticed that he had a slightly more relaxed posture than Seto, but it seemed to make all the difference for her.

()()()()()

Kaiba looked around what would soon be the settled colony of Virginia, and he looked across the large expanse of land.

()()()()()

"Huh." Marik said. "Well I like him better than Seto."

"Hush Marik." Ishizu whispered.

Marik walked up and patted Kaiba on the shoulder, and he quickly turned around.

"Hello." Marik said as he waved his hand.

()()()()()

"Sorry, I don't understand your language." Kaiba said as he put his gun down. He had seen enough savages to know that there were several kinds, and this kind wasn't one you shot on sight.

"Hopefully, we could get along." Kaiba said. "Here's a peace treaty. It's not much, but everything else I brought is on the ship."

Kaiba handed a biscuit to the savage and he took it.

"Huh?" The savage said.

"You eat it." Kaiba said, and he mimed eating, and he nodded and ate it. "You like it, huh? Try eating nothing but that for four months straight, and you won't."

Kaiba then tossed the boy another one, and he walked to the bush with it.

"Huh." Kaiba said. "You got a friend back there?"

Kaiba walked to the bush when Mokuba called out.

"Seto!" Mokuba called out. "You better get down here! The governor's coming ashore."

"Alright!" Kaiba said. "Later kid." Kaiba said as he climbed down.

()()()()()

Marik went back to the bush and gave the hard bread thing to Ishizu.

"This tastes pretty good." Marik said.

"Marik, do you know what Father or Atem would say if they saw that?" Ishizu asked.

"They'd say I shouldn't have eaten with my mouth open, I know." Marik said.

"Oh, never mind." Ishizu said with a smile as they left.

()()()()()

Back at the village, everyone was gathered around the largest hut as a fire burned. They were all alarmed by the strange people their scouts had seen arrive at the shore.

"My brothers," Aknamkanon said calmly. "We must know more about these visitors. Aknadin, what do you see?"

Aknadin chanted as he tossed his powder into the smoke. Suddenly, images of the strangers appeared in blue smoke.

"These are not men like us." Aknadin said. "They're strange beasts with bodies that shine like the sun and weapons that spout fire and thunder." The men then turned into wolves. "They prow the Earth like ravenous wolves, consuming everything in their path."

Seto brushed away a wolf figure that appeared next to him.

"Great Aknamkanon, your son and I will lead our warriors to the river and attack." Seto said without a trace of fear. "We will destroy these invaders the way we destroyed the Masawamics!"

"Seto," Aknamkanon said firmly but calmly. "In that battle, we knew how to fight our enemy, but these pale visitors are strange to us. You and my son will take some men to the river to observe them. Let us hope they do not intend to stay."

()()()()()

Pegasus stuck the British flag into the soil they had just arrived at.

"I claim this land and all its riches in the name of King Dartz the First and do so name this settlement Dartz Town." Pegasus said formally as the people politely cheered.

"Bravo!" Weevil called out.

"Ah, shut up, Weevil!" Joey said. He'd rather live with those savage guys then have to spend the rest of his life under Pegasus' thumb. He then thought he saw a native taking some… Biscuits? … Out of some of the men's pockets and walking away as he blinked. "Um… Okay."

()()()()()

"Captain Kaiba," Pegasus said as he walked to Kaiba. "It appears I've selected the perfect location. Not a savage in sight."

"Just because we can't see them doesn't mean they aren't out there." Kaiba said.

"Well then how about you look for them and determine their whereabouts." Pegasus said.

"Right." Kaiba said as he hopped down and walked off. "If there are any Indians out there I'll find them."

"Now gentlemen," Pegasus said. "To work. You men, get the ship unloaded. You men build the fort. The rest of you, break out the shovels. It's time to start digging."

"Digging?" Bakura and Ryou asked.

"Of course." Pegasus said as he pulled out a map of what was discovered so far of the New World. "Let's not forget what the Spanish found when they came here. Gold. Mountains of it. For years they've ravaged the New World of its most precious resources, but now, it's our turn."

Pegasus then put a knife in the area where Virginia was.

_The gold of Cortez,_

_The jewels of Pissarro._

_Will seem like mere trinkets,_

_By this time tomorrow._

_The gold we find here,_

_Will dwarf them by far._

_Oh with all you've got in you boys,_

_Dig up Virginia boys._

_Mine, boys._

_Mine every mountain._

_And dig boys._

_Dig 'till you drop._

_Grab a pick boys,_

_Quick boys._

_Sharpen that shovel._

_Uncover those lovely pebbles that sparkle and shine._

_It's gold, and it's mine, mine, mine! (Dig, and dig, and dig, and diggity-dig.)_

The men then began to shovel as Weevil brought wheel barrows of dirt to Pegasus every hour as a way to mark progress, and to see if the men missed anything.

_Hi-nonni-nonni!_

_Hi-nonni-nonni!_

"_Oh how I love it!_" Pegasus said with a sneer.

_Hi-nonni-nonni!_

_Hi-nonni-nonni!_

_Riches for cheap !_

_Hi-nonni-nonni !_

_Hi-nonni-nonni!_

_There'll be heaps of it,_

_And I'll be on top of the heap!_

As trees fell and grass was uprooted, Pegasus imagined his triumphant return home in clothes of gold as he arrived at King Dartz and Queen Iona's thrones.

_My rivals back home,_

_It's not that I'm bitter._

_But think how they'll squirm,_

_When they see how I glitter._

_The ladies of court will be all a twitter._

_The king will reward me._

_He'll knight me._

_No! Lord me!_

_It's mine, mine!_

_Mine for the taking!_

_It's mine boys!_

_Mine me that gold!_

_Dig those nuggets!_

_Nuggets!_

_The glory they'll give me._

_My dear friend King Dartzy,_

_Will probably build me a shrine._

_When all of the gold, is mine!_

Kaiba looked around the land and smiled honestly for once. He'd dreamt of finding a land like this. He then walked along a log as it fell and created a bridge for himself and everyone who came through here after him.

_All of my life, _

_I have searched for a land like this one!_

_A wild a more challenging country_

_I couldn't design!_

_Hundreds of dangers await,_

_And I don't plan to miss one!_

_In a land I can claim!_

_A land I can tame!_

_The greatest adventure is mine! (Keep on working lads.)_

_Mine! (Don't keep shirking lads!)_

Back at the shore, Pegasus was encouraging his men.

_Mine boys, mine me that gold!_

_Beautiful gold!_

_This is my land!_

_My land!_

_Make the mounds big boys._

_I'd help you to dig boys,_

_But I've got this crick in my spine._

Kaiba then looked at the beautiful country he saw.

_This land we behold! (This beautiful gold!)_

_Her mountains behold! (It all can be sold!)_

_The gold… Is… MINE!_

_It is mine!_

Both Pegasus and Kaiba smiled towards the land, but for very, very different reasons.

* * *

Marik: Hey sis, you're not eating your biscuit!

Ishizu: Not now Marik.

Marik: But I got it for you.

Ishizu: I said "Not now Marik."

Me: Easy you two.


	6. Seto Kaiba and Ishizu Ishtar

Chapter Six: Seto Kaiba and Ishizu Ishtar

Kaiba eventually stopped at a waterfall and bent down to wash his face when he saw something moving in the water he was holding. He stopped and looked up. He thought he saw a small movement of a darkly skinned leg. He pretended he hadn't seen it and washed his face.

()()()()()

Ishizu hid from the man. She was afraid for a moment that he had seen her, and she wasn't sure what he'd do to someone he'd just found. Maybe she should've come out with Marik. She crawled to the long grass by the river like a spider to stay low and avoid another near catch. She went to see him, but he wasn't by the flat rock by the river anymore. Marik popped his head out to take a look, but Ishizu shoved it down to make it easier to hide.

Ishizu eventually decided to see if he was somewhere close by, and walked out and stopped on a stepping stone.

()()()()()

From behind the waterfall, Kaiba saw the shape of the person who was following him through the falls. He could only think of two kinds of people who hid like that, scouts and warriors. He was prepared for the latter as he never heard of a scout that followed only one man with benevolent purposes. He lit the fuse on his rifle, and blew it out. He took a breath, jumped from behind the waterfall… and stopped as he saw a woman.

She was about the same age as himself with long black hair that stretched to below her shoulders. She had blue eyes similar to his but a lighter shade. She was dressed in what looked like an animal skin dress that left her shoulders bare, and on her head was a golden colored band with a blue stone in it, and she wore a necklace made of the same blue stones with a white one in the middle.

She stood there stock still starring at them with those soul piercing eyes. He set his gun down and took and wadded to her through the water. Suddenly, she ran off.

"No!" Kaiba shouted. "Wait! Please wait."

The woman didn't answer. He grabbed his gun for safe keeping, and chased after her. He found her getting into a boat with the boy he had seen earlier, and a little… Puff ball… Thing.

"Please!" Kaiba called out as he set the gun against a tree. "Don't run off."

The woman looked at him uneasily.

"It's alright." Kaiba assured her as he walked up. "I'm not gonna hurt you." He then extended his hand. "Let me help you out of there."

"No tak qua?" The woman asked as she shook her head. "Na to ras."

"You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?" Kaiba asked. He stretched his hand out father to put more emphasis on it. "It's alright." Kaiba continued, putting more calmness in his voice to help convey meaning. "I won't hurt you."

()()()()()

Ishizu looked at the man, and she trusted him, but she had no idea what he was saying when suddenly, the wind flew past her and around the man's hand. She looked up at his smiling face.

_Ay-ay-ay-ya._

Ishizu took the man's hand and remembered what Grandmother Isis said as the wind intertwined their hands together.

_Listen with your heart._

_You will understand._

Ishizu got off the boat as Marik held a charging Kuriboh still. Ishizu closed her eyes and listened as the wind flew up.

_Let it rain upon you,_

_Like a wave across the sand…_

_Listen with your heart._

_You will understand…_

Ishizu then found that she could suddenly speak the man's language, maybe from the observations she'd made or a miracle done by the Great Spirit for some other purpose.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"Ishizu Ishtar." Ishizu said as she pointed at herself.

"What?" The man asked in shock, obviously surprised at her sudden responding. "What did you say?"

"My name is Ishizu Ishtar." Ishizu said again.

"Wow." Marik said as he and Kuriboh looked at each other.

"I'm Seto Kaiba." The man said, and they held hands and starred at each other.

* * *

Cool!

Little Isis: Yay! Mommy, Daddy, did you two meet like in the story?

Ishizu: Well… No.


	7. First Blood

Chapter Seven: First Blood

Back at Dartz Town, Pegasus was continuing to inspect the work.

"That's it." Pegasus said. "Keep at it men. Keep digging. The gold's gotta be here somewhere."

()()()()()

Had they known it, the pale visitors were being watched by Atem and Seto's party as one of the warriors, Shada, approached Seto.

"There's thirty more of them down by the ridge." Shada explained.

"That makes more than a hundred of them." Seto said through his teeth. They had nowhere near that many warriors, at least not without backup from the other villages.

()()()()()

Mokuba was digging when Pegasus arrived.

"Anything, yet?" Pegasus asked.

"Nothing but rocks and dirt, sir." Mokuba explained.

"Um… How long are we gonna keep digging like this, sir?" Ryou asked.

"Ay, we're slaving away and busting our backs day and night-" Bakura began before Pegasus interrupted him.

"For king and country, I know." Pegasus said with a smile. "And I'm sure you're fatigued. Weevil!"

"Yes sir?" Weevil asked as he showed up.

"I'm feeling a little hungry." Pegasus said. "Fetch me some chicken, if you'd please."

"Got it." Weevil said.

"Oh jeez." Joey said as he came up with enough dirt on him to make him look like a native. He then looked up and saw a bald native there. "INDIANS!"

"Savages!" Pegasus called out. "It's an ambush, arm yourselves!"

Weevil hid behind a bush as everyone grabbed a musket, and they prepared to shoot.

"What are you waiting for you fool?" Pegasus asked. "SHOOT!"

Mokuba then tripped on a log and ended up shooting the water barrel.

"Them you idiot, not us!" Pegasus hissed, and Mokuba hung his head.

Arrows and bullets flashed past everyone.

"Where's that blasted Kaiba when I need him?" Pegasus asked angrily.

Pegasus then saw one on a tree aim at him and shot him in the leg. The savage then fell to the ground.

()()()()()

"Shada!" Atem and Seto called out as they rushed to him.

"They shall pay for this!" Seto said as he pulled out a hunting knife as Atem managed to overpower a man with wild white hair and stop him from finishing Shada off and pushed him away.

"No!" Atem said. "We must retreat!"

Atem then helped Shada up, and he rushed off as everyone followed, only Seto reluctantly obeyed.

()()()()()

As they walked, Seto shouted at the chief's son.

"We should have stayed!" Seto said. "Now they'll believe they're stronger than us and invade the village!"

"Four points against that idea Seto." Atem said calmly. "One: We both know that we're only about twelve men and there were a hundred armed men there. Two: We have someone who is seriously wounded. Three: They don't know where the village is. Four: What good would arrows and knives do against those… metal rods they used? We'll take Shada back and explain what happened to my father."

"They plan to war with us!" Seto argued. "They attacked a simple scout!"

"Or more likely we frightened them." Atem said. "You saw how unorganized they were and the fear in their voices."

Seto didn't answer back. The prince was a fool. If any of those savages hurt one of his people again… They would not live to regret it.

()()()()()

Back at Dartz Town, everyone had cheered when the natives retreated.

"Shut up." Pegasus said. "Shut up, you fools. They'll be back. Everyone get back to camp. Get the rest of the canons ashore and finish building the foot."

"Ay, Governor." Bakura said.

"And you!" Pegasus said angrily at Mokuba. "Learn to use that thing properly. A man's not a man if he doesn't know how to shoot."

()()()()()

Mana looked at Shada with Atem as Aknadin chanted, but no relief came to the warrior.

"These beasts invade our shores," Aknamkanon said. "And now this."

"This wound is strange to me." Aknadin said sadly. "I cannot heal it."

"We will fight this enemy!" Aknamkanon said. "But we cannot do it alone. Seto, send messengers to every village in our nation. We will call on our brothers to help us fight."

Aknamkanon then walked out as Atem and Mana followed.

"There white men are dangerous!" Aknamkanon called out. "No one is to go near them!"

Mana hugged Atem tightly. She didn't want another war, and she knew from Atem's sad face that Atem didn't want one either.

* * *

Oh, Pegasus is really diplomatic, isn't he?


	8. Colors of the Wind

Chapter Eight: Colors of the Wind

Ishizu was looking at the extra shirt Kaiba wore.

"It's called a jacket." Kaiba explained.

"Jacket?" Ishizu asked. "Is it for keeping you warmer?"

"Exactly." Kaiba said. "And if it gets to warm, you can just take it off. So, what river is this?"

"Kueukohonic." Ishizu explained.

"Well you have some interesting names here, Ishizu Ishtar." Kaiba said with a smirk.

"Well your name's interesting too, Seto Kaiba." Ishizu said with a smile of her own as Marik grabbed for the biscuits in Kaiba's bag.

"Hey!" Kaiba said as he pulled Marik away. "If you want them, just ask."

"Marik always has trouble with that part of getting things." Ishizu said with a smile. "This is my brother Marik."

"Well, how do you do, Marik?" Kaiba said extending his hand.

"Uh…" Marik said as he stared blankly at the hand.

"Oh, you shake it." Kaiba explained.

"Why?" Ishizu asked.

"Uh…" Kaiba said. "To be honest, I don't know. It's what a lot of the men do when they meet where I come from. I'll show you. Ishizu, take my hand." Ishizu reached out with her left hand. "The other one actually." Ishizu switched, and she took Kaiba's. He then gently took it up and down. "This is how we say hello."

Marik then took Kuriboh's forepaw and shook it.

"We say hello like this." Ishizu said. "Wingabo." Ishizu then brought her hand from her left side to the right.

"Wingabo." Kaiba repeated as he did the same motion.

"And this is how we say Good-bye. Ana." Ishizu said as she was about to use the same motion when Kaiba put his hand on hers. "No offense, but I like hello better."

Kuriboh then jumped in and tried to pull the two hands apart.

"What is that thing anyway?" Kaiba asked.

"Kuriboh." Ishizu said. "He doesn't like strangers."

"I'm not one anymore, am I?" Kaiba asked, and Kuriboh yelped angrily.

"Well he's stubborn." Kaiba said.

"Very stubborn." Ishizu said with a smile.

"Can I have this?" Marik asked as he pulled out a circle with an arrow on it.

"Ah sure." Kaiba said.

Marik looked at it.

"What is that?" Ishizu asked.

"It's a compass." Kaiba said. "It helps you find your way when you get lost. I can just buy another one in London."

"London." Ishizu repeated. "Is that your village?"

"Yes." Kaiba answered. "It's a very big village called a city."

"What it like?" Ishizu asked.

"Well it's got streets filled with carriages, bridges over the rivers, and buildings as tall as trees." Kaiba said.

"I'd like to see those things." Ishizu said, even though she only had a vague idea of what they were.

"You will." Kaiba said. "We're going to build them here. We'll show your people how to use this land properly. How to make the most of it."

"Make the most of it?" Ishizu asked. The way her and her people lived was just fine.

"Yes." Kaiba said. "We'll build roads and decent houses."

"Our houses are fine." Ishizu said.

"You only think that because you don't know better." Kaiba said. Ishizu then began to walk away. Maybe Kaiba was closer to Seto than she thought. "Hey wait, don't take it that way!"

Ishizu left in her boat until Kaiba got in the way of it.

"Wait!" Kaiba said. "There's so much we can teach you. We've improved the lives of savages all over the world."

"SAVAGES?" Ishizu shouted in outrage.

"Uh, not that you're a savage." Kaiba said nervously.

"Just my people!" Ishizu said angrily.

"No, look, that's not what I meant." Kaiba said.

"Let go!" Ishizu said as she tried to whack Kaiba's hand away with one of the oars.

"No, I'm not letting you leave." Kaiba said calmly.

Ishizu then jumped into a tree.

"Look," Kaiba said as he climbed up the tree after her. "Don't do this. Savage is just a word. A term for people who are uncivilized."

"Like me!" Ishizu said as she hung from the tree.

"Well when I say uncivilized, what I mean is-" Kaiba said before the limb he was on broke, and he fell to the ground, not hurt but winded. Ishizu looked at him and decided to forgive him for what he said, but she also decided she needed to teach him what it truly meant to be alive… To be a part of the Earth.

"What you mean is, not like you." Ishizu said.

_You think I'm an ignorant savage._

_And you've been so many places,_

_I guess it must be so._

_But still I cannot see,_

_If the savage one is me._

_How can there be so much that you don't know?_

_You don't know._

Ishizu then brought Kaiba to a cliff where they could see nothing but a large forest for miles and miles.

_You think you own whatever land you land on._

_The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim._

_But I know every rock and tree and creature,_

_Has a life, has a spirit, has a name._

Ishizu then brought Kaiba to a bear, and he was about to shoot it out of fear when Ishizu put her hand on the gun and lowered it away.

_You think the only people, who are people,_

_Are the people who look and think like you._

_But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger,_

_You'll learn things you never knew_

_You never knew._

Ishizu and Kaiba followed the bear to his den where there were at least three cubs there, and Kaiba picked one up and looked at it sadly, grateful now that he hadn't shot it, and the cub giggled and patted Kaiba's hair with his paw.

_Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue core moon?_

_Or asked the singing bobcat why he grins?_

_Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain?_

_Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?_

_Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?_

Ishizu then took Kaiba to a forest path, and Kaiba looked around, and almost everywhere there was an interesting color, there was wind.

_Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest._

_Come taste the sun sweet berries of the Earth._

_Come roll in all the riches all around you,_

_And for once never wonder what they're worth!_

Kaiba and Ishizu then took a boat ride and saw two otters come out and splash around.

_The rainstorm and the river are my brothers._

_The heron and the otter are my friends._

_And we are all connected to each other,_

_In a circle, in a hoop that never ends!_

Ishizu and Kaiba then saw two eagles, one male and female, fly up a sycamore tree.

_How high does a sycamore grow?_

_If you cut it down, then you'll never know._

Kaiba and Ishizu then watched the sunset, both with a newfound respect for the other's cultures.

_And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue core moon!_

_Or know whether we are white or copper skinned!_

_We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain._

_We need to paint with all the colors of the wind._

_You can own the Earth and still, _

_All you'll own is earth _

_Until you can paint… with all the colors… of… the… wind. . ._

Kaiba and Ishizu looked at each other, but while Ishizu's respect for her own people grew, Kaiba's respect for his people was quickly deteriorating, especially for Pegasus.

Suddenly drums sounded, and Ishizu's eyes widened in alarm.

"What's that?" Kaiba asked.

"The drums." Ishizu said. "They mean trouble. I-I shouldn't be here."

"I want to see you again." Kaiba said.

"I can't." Ishizu said as she looked away.

"Please don't leave." Kaiba pleaded.

"I'm sorry." Ishizu said. "I have to go."

Ishizu ran off, holding back tears. Was she falling in love with this man?

* * *

Hooray! Kaiba's learned something!

I'm strongly reminded of Avatar.


	9. The Tension Deepens

Chapter Nine: The Tension Deepens

A few days later, Kaiba helped build the wall, though he didn't like the idea of making Ishizu's people think they were building a fortress, and he remembered what Ishizu said, _if you cut it down, then you'll never know_. After completing the fence, Mokuba turned to Kaiba.

"That'll keep everything out, right Seto?" Mokuba asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?" Kaiba asked as he scraped some of the mud off the fence.

"Well you've been awfully quiet the last few days." Mokuba reasoned.

"Oh, he's just mad that he missed the fight." Ryou said.

"Don't worry Seto." Mokuba said with a smile. "You'll get your chance to deal with the Indians."

"Yeah, we'll take care of them the same way we did last time!" Ryou said with an excited smile. "_We shot ourselves an Injun or maybe two or three._"

"Alright, you howling nutter, get back to work!" Bakura shouted.

"Come on, Bakura, it's just a little fun." Ryou said.

"Oh sure!" Bakura spat. "We're having loads of fun. No gold, no food, and old Pegasus in his tent happy as a clam!"

()()()()()

"I'm doomed!" Pegasus said as he slammed his fist on the table. "I should be wallowing in riches by now, and I haven't even found as much as a speck of gold! What about those Spaniards? They found a whole stupid city of gold when they came to the New World! The Italians found jewels by the boat load here! What am I doing wrong?"

Joey watched this with a smirk as he was about to eat a piece of chicken he'd managed to grab when it wasn't there.

"Eh?" Joey said as he looked around, and he saw the same native he saw when they started digging walking away with _his_ chicken. He ran off after him with no one else noticing due to their own problems.

He ended up chasing the native through the unfinished fence and fell over it, before he charged on.

()()()()()

"What am I overlooking?" Pegasus asked when Weevil groaned and walked in with an arrow in his head.

"I…" Weevil groaned. "I…" He then pulled the arrow off, and Pegasus saw it was some stupid head accessory, a stupid joke item. "I made it myself."

"Oh that's a nice way to spend your day!" Pegasus spat. "Making a silly…"

He looked at the arrow and smiled.

"Of course, the Indians." Pegasus said. "Weevil, why do you think those insolent heathens attacked?"

"Because we invaded their land, cut down their trees, and dug up their Earth?" Weevil asked.

"Wrong Weevil-boy!" Pegasus said with a wide smile. "It's the gold! They had it, and they don't want us to take it from them! I'll just take it by force then!"

Pegasus walked out to Bakura and Ryou.

"You two, where's Captain Kaiba?" Pegasus shouted.

"Oh he's right-" Ryou said when he looked, and he wasn't there. "That's odd. He was right there."

"Maybe your singing scared him off?" Bakura said with a smirk.

"OI!" Ryou shouted.

"Go find him you idiots!" Pegasus shouted.

"But what if we run into the Indians?" Ryou asked.

"That's what guns are for, Ryou-Boy." Pegasus said before snapping. "NOW FIND HIM!"

()()()()()

Marik ran as fast as he could from the visitor. He guessed he shouldn't have taken the chicken, but it tasted so good! He hid behind a tree, and he laughed when the man got his whole upper body stuck in a log. Marik wondered what he shouted as he tried to get out. He definitely sounded angry. He shrugged his shoulders and walked off.

()()()()()

At the village, Ishizu was with Mana and Atem, who was keeping them safe as they picked some corn.

"Ishizu." Aknamkanon called out. "Atem, Mana."

"Father." Atem said as he bowed his head.

"You three should be inside the village." Aknamkanon said.

"We'll be alright." Ishizu said with a smile.

"We're gathering food for the warriors." Mana said. "And Atem's looking after us."

"Well don't go far." Aknamkanon said. "Now isn't the time to be running off."

"Yes Father." Ishizu said with a smile.

"When I see you with that necklace," Aknamkanon said with a smile. "You look just like your mother."

"I miss her." Ishizu said, and Atem silently agreed.

"But she is still with us." Aknamkanon said. "Whenever the wind moves through the trees, I feel her presence. Our people look to her for wisdom and strength, and someday, they will look to you and Mana as well."

"Well that's cool." Mana said. "And I'll look to you for strength too."

Mana said as she smiled.

"I would be honored by that." Ishizu said with a small smile.

"You shouldn't be out here with only Atem considering what happened to Shada." Aknamkanon said. "Not if Atem alone can face such people. I'll ask Seto to come look out for you."

Atem sighed. He didn't hate Seto, but in his opinion, Seto was too rash and quick for blood and battle to be out there.

"Alright, what's up?" Mana asked.

"What?" Ishizu asked. "Nothing's up."

"You're hiding something." Mana said.

"I'm not hiding anything." Ishizu said nervously.

"I remember that face." Atem said with a smirk. "Like the time you accidentally spilled maize on a quilt Mother was making, and you tried to wash it yourself."

"I WAS THREE!" Ishizu shouted as she turned red.

"Ishizu, you can tell us!" Mana said. "I promise, me and Atem won't- OH GREAT SPIRIT!"

Atem looked and saw a white man that looked a lot like Seto as he stood in front of Ishizu, but Ishizu came from behind him and looked at the man.

()()()()()

"What are you doing here?" Ishizu asked.

"Huh?" Mana asked, and Ishizu figured she was wondering why Ishizu was speaking in Kaiba's language.

"I had to see you again." Kaiba explained.

"What?" Atem asked, and Ishizu guessed that Atem could tell what he was saying too. He'd always been quicker at spiritual stuff.

"Ishizu?" Seto's voice called out.

"Uh-oh." All three of them said as Kaiba blinked.

"Please don't say anything, you two." Ishizu pleaded before leaving with Kaiba.

()()()()()

Mana and Atem blinked.

"What the heck's going on?" Mana whispered as Seto's voice got closer.

"Ishizu's breaking down the barriers." Atem said. "Keep your word to Ishizu, and we may not have to fight."

"Ishizu?" Seto asked as he appeared.

"Hello." Mana said overly cheerful.

"Mana, Atem." Seto asked. "Where's Ishizu?"

"Haven't seen her." Atem said.

"Right." Mana answered.

"Ishizu can't keep running off." Seto said. "It's dangerous out there, and it has been since before those pale savages came. Tell her that when you see her. She listens to you two."

Seto left, and the two laughed a little.

"Sure she does." The two said.

* * *

Well… Things are going great, huh?

Joey: GET ME OUTTA HERE!


	10. Grandmother Isis

Chapter Ten: Grandmother Isis

Ishizu took Kaiba to some tree she said she went to in times of doubt. Kaiba couldn't see why. It was just a big tree. He guessed it was a nice place to think things over though since it was so quiet.

"This place is incredible." Kaiba said as he looked at a tree that had to have been there since the dawn of time if not longer in addition to all the other sights he had seen a few days previously. "And to think we came all this way just to dig it up for gold."

"Gold?" Ishizu asked as Marik swung down a vine.

"Hey Marik." Kaiba said.

"Wingabo." Marik said as he sat by his sister.

"What's gold?" Ishizu asked.

"Well, it's yellow, and it comes out of the ground." Kaiba said.

"Oh, then why didn't they just ask? We have tons of it." Ishizu said as she pulled out a yellow thing that looked like kernels. "This is gold, right?"

"No." Kaiba said. "Gold is like this." Kaiba pulled out a gold piece.

"We have nothing like that here." Ishizu said.

"No gold?" Kaiba asked.

"Not that I've seen." Ishizu responded.

"Looks like we came all this way for nothing." Kaiba said with a smile. "What do you guys call this stuff?"

"Maize." Ishizu said. "We eat is. A lot of times we mash it up and put berries and other fruits in it, or we can just eat it the way it is, after cooking it of course."

"Huh." Kaiba said as he looked at it.

"Hey Ishizu, tell Kaiba about when you spilled some mashed maize on Mother's quilt!" Marik said.

"Marik, shut up!" Ishizu said as she turned red. "For the one hundredth time, I was three!"

"Well the boys back at camp are in for a big surprise when I tell them there isn't any gold." Kaiba said as he knelt back and rested.

"Will they leave?" Ishizu asked.

"Some might." Kaiba said. By some, he was thinking about Pegasus.

"Will you go home?" Ishizu asked.

"Well I…" Kaiba said. "I don't have much of a home to go back to. I've never really belonged anywhere."

"You could belong here." Ishizu said. "So what are your parents like?"

"There's not much to tell." Kaiba said. "My father ran off when my mother was pregnant with me, and she died giving birth to me. She made sure I was in a place I'd be taken care of if the worst came to worst when it happened, and according to the people at the orphanage, she lived just long enough to name me."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ishizu said sadly. "I lost my mother when I was young two. When Marik was young, Mother got some strange disease none of the wise men, not even Aknadin, could cure. All my family and I have left of her is this necklace and the wind."

"Wow." Kaiba said when he suddenly heard a weird humming from nowhere. He then looked at the tree as the face of a woman very similar to Ishizu appeared and disappeared.

"What was that?" Kaiba called out. He'd admit that there was more about this place than met the eye, but this was getting a little too out there for him.

"Did you see something?" Ishizu asked with a smile.

"No, no." Kaiba said nervously. "I think I'm just a little tired. I didn't see anything…" Kaiba then looked at Ishizu who was smiling. "Did I?"

"Look again." Ishizu said, and Kaiba did so, as a woman walked out. She looked perfectly like Ishizu, but in a different outfit.

_Let it rain upon you,_

_Like a wave across the sand._

_Listen with your heart._

_You will understand._

"Hello Seto Kaiba." Isis said with a smile.

"Ishizu…" Kaiba said. "What's that thing talking to me?"

"That's my grandmother, Isis." Ishizu said calmly. "Say hello."

"Don't be frightened young man." Isis said. "My bark is worse than my bite."

Kaiba chuckled slightly.

"Say something." Ishizu said.

"What do you say to a woman who lives in a tree?" Kaiba asked.

"Anything you want." Ishizu said, and it became a popular joke not long afterwards.

"So… Uh…" Kaiba said.

"Come closer, Seto Kaiba." Isis said.

The willows then pushed Kaiba closer to the spirit, and she starred into his eyes.

"He has a good soul." Isis said before smiling mischievously. "And he's handsome too."

"Oh, I like her." Kaiba said with a smirk as Ishizu laughed a little.

"I knew you would." Ishizu said with a smile.

"Kaiba!" Bakura's voice called out. "Kaiba, where are you?"

"We can't let them see us." Kaiba said. "We've gotta hide."

"Over here." Isis said, and an opening appeared, and they went inside.

()()()()()

"This place gives me the willies." Ryou whined like he did back home. "Savages could be hiding anywhere."

"Well if you see them, don't ask questions, just shoot." Bakura said.

Suddenly, the two tripped on a root.

"Oi, watch your feet, you clumsy ox!" Bakura said.

"It wasn't my fault!" Ryou said. "It was the tree!"

"Oh sure." Bakura said sarcastically. "The tree just felt like lifting its roots!"

They looked, and the root went back into the ground.

"Let's get outta here!" Bakura shouted when two willows smacked into their backside. "RUN!"

()()()()()

They both ran off.

"Wow." Kaiba said as he blinked. "I'm glad you're on our side."

"Oh, you definitely don't want to get on my bad side when I'm on your side." Isis said with a smile. "Just ask Ishizu's mother."

"Or me." Ishizu said with a nostalgic, and pained, smile.

"Right." Kaiba said. "I guess I'll have to get back before they send the whole camp out looking for me."

"When will I see you again?" Ishizu asked.

"Meet me tonight, right here." Kaiba said as he left.

"Well," Isis said with a smile. "I haven't had this much fun and excitement since your mother was two."

"What am I doing?" Ishizu asked. "I shouldn't be seeing him again. I mean, I want to see him again."

"Who wouldn't?" Isis asked slyly. "I want to see him again, too."

"But still, something inside is telling me it's the right thing." Ishizu said.

"Ishizu's got a boyfriend!" Marik said with a laugh. "Ishizu's got a boyfriend!"

"Perhaps it's your dream." Isis said as she had one of the willows cover Marik's mouth.

"My dream." Ishizu said. "Do you think he's the one the spinning arrow was pointing to?"

"Maybe." Isis said.

* * *

Hooray for Ishizu and Kaiba, and three cheers for Isis!


	11. Attempts to Stop a War

Chapter Eleven: Attempts to Stop a War

Soon afterwards, the warriors arrived, and everyone went out to see them.

Ishizu gasped at this. If they went to war with Kaiba's people, what would happen to Kaiba?

"Are you crazy, Ishizu?" Mana asked as she and Atem walked up. "What were you doing with one of them?"

"One of them?" Ishizu asked. "Name one thing that's different about them besides their skin color."

"Um…" Mana asked. "Uh… Shut up!"

"Ishizu are you alright?" Atem asked.

"I'm fine, Brother." Ishizu said with a smile. "Honest-"

"There you are." Seto said as he arrived and put his arm around Ishizu's shoulder, and she shuttered. "Now we have enough warriors to destroy those white demons!"

Aknamkanon stood up with the chief from the neighboring village.

"Now that we our joined by our brothers, we will defeat this enemy!" Aknamkanon said.

"This is not a good idea." Ishizu heard Atem mutter.

Ishizu ran off to her father.

"Father, I need to speak with you." Ishizu said.

"Not now, Daughter." Aknamkanon said. "The council is gathering."

"We don't have to fight them!" Ishizu pleaded. "And Atem believes so as well! There must be a better way!"

"Sometimes, our paths are chosen for us." Aknamkanon said.

"But shouldn't we try talking to them?" Ishizu asked.

"They do not want to talk." Aknamkanon said.

"But if one of them did, would you listen?" Ishizu asked.

"Ishizu…" Aknamkanon said.

"Wouldn't you?" Ishizu asked again.

"Yes." Aknamkanon said. "I would listen to him. Of course I would, but it's not that simple. Nothing is simple anymore."

_That's what you think, Father._ Ishizu said. She'd rush back to Kaiba tonight and convince him to talk to her father.

()()()()()

Joey was struggling with the log he was stuck in.

"HELP!" Joey called out. "SOMEONE GET ME OUTTA HERE! KAIBA? MOKUBA? RYOU? BAKURA? I'LL EVEN SETTLE FOR PEGASUS!

Joey tried to stand up, and saw that the log was light enough that he good, but his balance was off.

"Ahha!" Joey said. "Take that, fate! Joey Wheeler don't give-AHH!"

Joey fell over backwards and rolled down the hill.

"MOOOOMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Joey screamed as he rolled.

()()()()()

Mokuba nervously waited at the gate to the camp when he heard a twig snap and turned his gun on Kaiba.

"Easy Mokuba." Kaiba said. "It's just me."

"Seto don't sneak up like that." Mokuba sighed. "I could have killed you."

"Not like that you couldn't have." Kaiba said as he had Mokuba get into a firing position again. "Remember, keep both eyes open, and you'll see twice as well."

()()()()()

Kaiba walked in as Bakura and Ryou called out.

"Kaiba, there you are!" Bakura shouted.

"We looked all over for you." Ryou said.

"KAIBA!" Pegasus shouted as he walked up. "Where have you been?"

"I was out scouting the terrain." Kaiba said smoothly.

"Excellent." Pegasus said in an instantaneous smile. "Then you must know the Indians' whereabouts. We'll need that information for the battle."

"Battle?" Kaiba asked. "What battle?"

"We'll eliminate these savages once and for all." Pegasus said.

"No!" Kaiba said. "You can't do that!"

"Oh…" Pegasus said. "Can't I?"

"Look, we don't have to fight them." Kaiba said.

"Seto, what's going on?" Mokuba asked.

"I met one of them." Kaiba admitted. Now was the time for the truth.

"You what?" Bakura asked in shock.

"A savage?" Mokuba asked.

"They're not savages." Kaiba said. "They can help us. They know the land; they know how to navigate the rivers and look at this!" Kaiba pulled out the maize Ishizu had given him. "It's food, and it's a lot better than dry biscuits and gruel!"

"I like gruel." Weevil said.

"They don't want to feed us you ninnies, they want to kill us!" Pegasus shouted as he grabbed the maize and threw it down. "They want to kill us! _ All_ of us! They've got our gold, and they'll do anything to keep it!"

"There isn't any gold!" Kaiba shouted.

"No gold?" Bakura asked as he turned to Pegasus. "Are you telling me we practically broke our backs from Day One for nothing?"

"I suppose your little Indian friend told you this?" Pegasus asked.

"Yes." Kaiba said angrily.

"LIES!" Pegasus shouted as he turned red. "All of it! They're all murderous thieves, and there's no room for their kind in civilized society!"

"THIS IS THEIR LAND!" Kaiba shouted back.

"THIS IS MY LAND!" Pegasus shouted out as a few backed away from him. "I MAKE THE LAWS HERE! And I say anyone who so much as looks at an Indian without killing it on sight will be tried for treason and hanged!"

* * *

Well… That could have gone better.


	12. Ripples

Chapter 12: Ripples

Ishizu was running for Grandmother Isis' tree when Atem and Mana caught her.

"Ishizu!" They whispered.

"Mana!" Ishizu said. "Brother!"

"It's too dangerous to go, wherever you're going with him at night!" Atem said. "What if one of his friends shows up and confuses you for an attacker? What if someone ends up killing your friend because they think he's attacking you? Wait for awhile."

"I have to meet Kaiba, you two." Ishizu said. "Now more than ever. If I can get him to talk to Father, we could stop any unnecessary bloodshed."

"He's one of them!" Mana shouted.

"You don't know him!" Ishizu shouted back.

"If you go out there, you'll be turning your back on your own people!" Mana shouted back.

"I'm trying to help my people." Ishizu said.

"She's right Mana." Atem said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "This could be our only chance to stop this war before anyone's killed."

"Ishizu, you're my best friend." Mana said as she cried and hugged Ishizu. "I don't wanna see you get hurt."

"You won't." Ishizu said.

"Be careful Sister." Atem said.

"I will Brother." Ishizu said as she walked off.

"Good luck." Mana said as she gulped.

()()()()()

Kaiba put out his candle and began to sneak out of the camp as he listened to what Ryou and Bakura were saying.

"Pegasus wouldn't take us halfway around the world for nothing." Bakura said.

"But what if Kaiba's right?" Ryou asked. "What if there isn't any gold?"

"If you ask me," one of the settlers who didn't talk much, Duke, said. "Pegasus has been lying to us ever since we left London."

"Well those savages didn't attack us for nothing!" Bakura said. "They must be hiding something!"

()()()()()

Mokuba saw Kaiba sneak out of Dartz Town and followed him to the gate as the others continued to debate who was right about the gold, and Mokuba was more inclined to believe Kaiba, but the attack left room for doubt in his mind.

Mokuba looked as Kaiba ran off when Pegasus pushed him down.

"Follow him." Pegasus said.

"Yes governor." Mokuba said.

"I want to know where he's sneaking off to." Pegasus continued.

"Yes sir." Mokuba said.

"And if you happen to see any Indians, shoot them." Pegasus said as he tossed a gun to Mokuba.

Mokuba looked down. He liked the idea of shooting anyone, even one of the savages, less and less.

"Oh and Mokuba." Pegasus said, and Mokuba turned around. "You've been a slip-shot sailor and a poor excuse for a soldier. Don't disappoint me again."

Mokuba walked off sadly.

()()()()()

Mana and Atem were pacing around the edge of the maize field when Seto walked up.

"Where's Ishizu?" Seto asked. "She's not in her tent."

"What are you doing looking into my sister's tent?" Atem asked. "She hasn't even accepted your proposal yet."

"I was making sure she was still here, now where she?" Seto asked.

"Oh, I'm sure she's around." Mana said nervously. "It's not like she went off to meet on of the visitors in an attempt to get him to talk to the chief."

"What?" Seto asked.

"Oops." Mana said. She'd never been very good at lying.

()()()()()

Ishizu arrived at Grandmother Isis' tree.

"The Earth is trembling!" Isis remarked. "What's happened?"

"The warriors are here!" Ishizu said urgently.

"Ishizu!" Kaiba said as he arrived with Marik, who had been waiting in the trees to help him get to Grandmother Isis.

"Seto." Ishizu said as they embraced.

"Listen to me." Kaiba said. "My men are planning to attack your people. You've got to warn them!"

"Maybe it's not too late to stop this." Ishizu said with a smile. "You have to come with me and talk to my father."

"Ishizu, talking won't help us now!" Kaiba said. "I tried talking to my men, but everything about this land has them so spooked and suspicious, that Pegasus has them wrapped around his little finger!"

"HELP!" A voice cried as a tree with a pair of legs came forward.

"That's the strangest creature I've ever seen." Isis said as the creature pulled the trunk off to reveal a man like Kaiba with yellow hair.

"Oh God!" Joey coughed. "I've been stuck in that thing all day!"

"Wheeler?" Kaiba asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Um… Hello." Marik said weakly.

"Kaiba?" Joey called out. "Ya know this thief?"

"Thief?" Ishizu asked.

"Yeah, this native's been stealing biscuits and chicken for the past few days, and at first I only thought I saw him, but during that big storm this morning, I definitely did! He stole my chicken!"

"Marik, is this true?" Isis asked.

"Uh…" Marik said nervously when a vine pulled him behind the tree as loud swats were heard and Marik cried out.

"Well thank you." Joey said. "It's nice to see him get what he deserves, native lady who I can kinda… See… Through."

Joey turned white as a sheet.

"GHOST!" Joey screamed before jumping into Ishizu's arm. "We gotta get outta here, da place his haunted hand-"

Joey then realized who Ishizu was.

"Ah, Indian!" Joey jumped into Kaiba's arms. "Run, Kaiba! Run for it before she beats us up for all da digging we've been doing and all da trees Pegasus had us cut down!"

"Oh, Joey, stop it!" Kaiba said as he dropped Joey on the ground.

"I'm so confused." Joey said. "What's going on here? Spirits appearing like it happened like it happened every day, natives speaking perfect English, Kaiba with a girl?"

"Just relax… Joey… Right?" Ishizu asked.

"Yeah." Joey said as Marik came back rubbing his rear.

"Um… Sorry about stealing your chicken." Marik said.

"That's all I wanted ta hear." Joey said. "So… What's been happening?"

After a quick summary from Kaiba and Ishizu, Joey's eyes widened.

"We're all screwed." Joey said.

"Not necessarily." Isis said. "There's something I want all of you, especially you two to see, Ishizu and Kaiba."

Isis put a willow into the water, and created a ripple which began to grow outwards.

"The ripples." Ishizu said as she understood what Grandmother Isis was saying.

"What about them?" Kaiba asked.

"So small at first." Isis said as she pointed at a new one that only looked as big as a penny before it grew. "Then look how they grow, but someone has to start them."

"They're not going to listen to us." Kaiba said skeptically.

"Young man," Isis said. "Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one. Don't you see? Only when the fighting stops can you two be together."

Kaiba and Isis were pushed forward by the tree, so that they were right next to each other. They looked into each other's eyes.

"Alright, let's go talk to your father." Kaiba said.

They then embraced as Grandmother Isis brought the willows around Joey and Marik when Kuriboh flew down and chirped to know what was going on before Marik pulled him in.

Kaiba and Ishizu then kissed for the first time, and it felt like something both would like to do again.

()()()()()

Mokuba saw Kaiba kissing one of the natives and blinked as the wind began to lift their hair. Maybe it was a trick by the natives to get Kaiba on their side, but maybe they were the only ones thinking clearly in this whole mess Pegasus put them in.

()()()()()

Seto had rushed off to the tree Ishizu, Atem, and Mana pretended their grandmother lived in when he saw Kaiba and Ishizu kissing. This was blasphemy! This was nonsense! How could Ishizu love a pale savage like this man?

Seto screamed and charged out.

Mokuba saw another native charge at Kaiba and saw how insane he looked. He guessed he was an ex-boyfriend of the girl or something.

"Seto, no!" The girl native said, and Mokuba blinked at how she knew English and guessed Kaiba taught her. As the man, Seto, tried to cut Kaiba with a stone ax, Seto defended himself with a stick and kicked him away. Seto then pulled out a long jagged knife. He was going to kill Kaiba if Mokuba didn't do something! Mokuba ran closer to the fight to make it easier to shoot and prepared his riffle.

"Leave him alone!" The girl said, but Seto just knocked her down.

He then loaded his riffle as the knife Seto had was dangerously close to Kaiba's neck. The girl then tried to help lift the knife away with Kaiba, and it had limited results.

_Both eyes open. _Mokuba said as he remembered Kaiba's words and shot Seto.

()()()()()

There was a loud bang like thunder. Seto gasped, clutched at Ishizu's necklace for support and fell, breaking the necklace in the process.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba said as he saw Mokuba standing there opened mouthed at what he'd done.

"Is he…?" Mokuba asked in horror.

"You killed him." Ishizu said as she turned to Mokuba.

"I… I thought that he would…" Mokuba said.

"Get away!" Ishizu said as she charged at Mokuba, but Kaiba held her back. He'd guessed they'd been friends or at least acquaintances, and Kaiba knew that when you lost someone close to you it was hard to think clearly.

"Ishizu, this won't help!" Kaiba said.

"HE KILLED HIM!" Ishizu shouted.

"He was only trying to protect me!" Kaiba said.

Mokuba looked down sadly at what he'd done and dropped the gun as it rolled to Kaiba's feet.

"Mokuba, get out of here!" Kaiba said as he heard Ishizu's people approach.

Kaiba then motioned for Joey and Marik to hide, which they did.

Then several of Ishizu's people arrived and restrained Kaiba upon seeing Seto's body and the gun at Kaiba's feet.

The two looked at each other sorrowfully as several men lifted the dead Seto up and carried him away. Leaving Ishizu alone to watch last before she went off too.

()()()()()

"Wow." Joey said. "That poor guy. Who was he?"

"A… A suitor for Ishizu." Marik croaked as Kuriboh flew sadly around. "Hey… Care for a bite to eat? I've kept some leftovers that nobody wanted in a cave."

"Sure." Joey said as he picked up the ruins of Ishizu's necklace, the actual stones were okay, but the twin was torn and frayed. He proceeded to pocket it. Maybe he could get the chance to fix it up when this was all over… And if they all survived what was about to happen next.

* * *

Well… That was intense.


	13. If I Never Knew You

Chapter Thirteen: If I Never Knew You

As Ishizu entered the village, everyone watched sadly as Seto's lifeless body was brought to Aknamkanon.

"Who did this?" Aknamkanon asked angrily, and Ishizu knew that the only way he could have been angrier would be if it was herself, Marik, or Atem who had been shot.

"Ishizu was out in the woods." One of the warriors said as he shoved Kaiba down and pulled his face up to look at him. "Seto went to find her, and this white man attacked them."

Ishizu was joined by Mana and Atem as they both tried to comfort Ishizu, and Atem tried to comfort a crying Mana. Ishizu guesses that she'd let it slip about where she was, but she wasn't angry at her. She was too busy being afraid for Kaiba's life.

"Your weapons are strong." Aknamkanon said as he pointed a spear at Kaiba's throat. "But now our anger is stronger. At sunrise, he will be the first to die."

"But Father-" Ishizu protested, but Aknamkanon just looked at her angrily.

"I told you to stay in the village! You have disobeyed me, and you have shamed your father and your family!"

"I was only trying to help!" Ishizu said as she began to cry.

"Because of your foolishness, Seto is dead!" Aknamkanon shouted. "What if it had been you or one of your brothers? Take the murderer away!"

Kaiba was dragged off as Ishizu looked down at the ground.

"Ishizu, are you okay?" Atem asked as he put his arms around his sister.

"Seto was only trying to protect me, and now he's dead, and the man I love's going to die too." Ishizu said sadly.

"Ishizu, it was my fault." Mana said. "Seto asked where you were, and I accidentally said where you were going."

"All of this happened because of me." Ishizu continued. "And now I'll never see Seto Kaiba again."

"Oh yes you will." Atem said. "Come with us."

()()()()()

Atem and Mana took Ishizu to a tent with two warriors guarding it.

"My sister wants to look into the eyes of the man who killed Seto." Atem said.

"Make it quick." The guard said, and they let Ishizu in.

They then let Ishizu into the tent and saw Kaiba tied to a pole by his wrists as he sat down.

She walked over to him.

"Seto." Ishizu said.

"Ishizu." Kaiba said.

"I'm so sorry." Ishizu whimpered as she hugged him.

"For what, this?" Kaiba said. "I've gotten out of worse scraps. None come to mind at the moment though."

"It would have been better if we'd never met." Ishizu whimpered. "None of this would've happened."

"Ishizu Ishtar, look at me." Kaiba said. "I'd rather die tomorrow than live a hundred years without knowing you."

_If I never knew you,_

_If I never felt this love._

_I would have no inkling of,_

_How precious life can be._

_If I never held you,_

_I would never have a clue._

_How at last I'd find in you,_

_The missing part of me._

_In this world so full of fear._

_Full of rage and lies._

_I can see the truth so clear._

_In your eyes. So dry your eyes._

_And I'm so grateful to you._

_I'd have lived my whole life through,_

_Lost forever if I never knew you._

Ishizu looked loving at Kaiba and smiled a little as she thought of all the good times, and how she'd never trade her time with Kaiba away for anything. Not maize or that gold stuff.

_I thought our love would be so beautiful._

_Somehow we'd make the whole world bright._

_I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong._

_How they'd leave us with these whispers in the night._

_But still my heart is saying… We were right…_

They both then thought about all their time together over the past few days.

_For if I never knew you, (There's no moment I regret,)_

_If I never knew this love, (Since the moment that we met.)_

_I would have no inkling of, (If our time has gone to fast,)_

_How precious life can be! (I've lived at last!)_

"Ishizu." Mana said. "We've… We've gotta get to bed."

"I can't leave you." Ishizu said as she looked at the man she loved.

"You never will." Kaiba said with a smile. "No matter what happens to me, I'll always be with you, forever."

Ishizu walked out sadly as Kaiba looked at the moon light shining through the top of his prison.

"_And I'm so grateful to you._" Kaiba said as he remembered the man he'd been back in London and what he was know. "_I'd have lived my whole life through, empty as the sky…_"

Ishizu rowed to Grandmother Isis to avoid seeing all the unnecessary bloodshed and thought about how Kaiba had changed her as much as she'd changed him.

"_Never knowing why._" She said as she touched the base of her neck where her mother's necklace once hung.

_Lost forever, if I never knew… You. . .

* * *

_

I think I'm gonna cry!

Mana: Me too!


	14. Savages

Chapter 14: Savages

Mokuba ran to the camp in panic.

"Help!" Mokuba called out. "Somebody help!"

"Easy mate." Ryou said as he helped Mokuba into Dartz Town. "What is it?"

"It's Kaiba!" Mokuba called out. "They've got him!"

"Who got him?" Bakura asked.

"The savages!" Mokuba said.

"Savages?" Ryou asked as the rest of the men ran in from their tents.

"They captured him and dragged him off!" Mokuba said.

"Where'd they take him?" Bakura asked.

"Somewhere north!" Mokuba said.

"How many were there?" Ryou asked.

"I don't know." Mokuba said. "At least a dozen!"

"Filthy beasts!" Bakura muttered.

()()()()()

Weevil ran into Pegasus' tent when Pegasus grabbed him. He had heard everything, and he couldn't be happier.

"It's perfect, Weevil!" Pegasus whispered. "I couldn't have planned this better myself. The gold is as good as mine."

He walked out as Mokuba continued to talk to the others.

"We've got to save him!" Mokuba stated firmly. "He'd do the same for any of us!"

"Mokuba's right!" Bakura said as he stepped forward. "We've got to do something!"

"And so we shall!" Pegasus said as he walked out. "I told you those savages couldn't be trusted! Kaiba-boy tried to befriend them, and look what they've done to him! But now I say it's time to rescue our courageous comrade! At daybreak, we attack!"

The men cheered as Pegasus smirked inwardly.

_What can you expect_

_From filthy little heathens?_

_Here's what you get when races are diverse!_

Pegasus was then put into a suit of black armor.

_Their skin's a hellish red!_

_They're only good when dead!_

_They're vermin as I said!_

_And worse!_

_They're savages! Savages!_

_Barely even human!_

_Savages! Savages!_

_Drive them from our shore!_

_They're not like you and me,_

_Which means they must be evil!_

_We must sound the drums of war!_

Every man was tossed a musket as Mokuba looked down at his and thought of the native he'd killed.

_They're savages! Savages!_

_Dirty shrieking devils!_

_Now we sound the drums of war!_

At the village, Atem walked up to his father.

"Father, I'm staying here." Atem said. "I will not for something I don't believe in."

"Very well." Aknamkanon said. "Protect the village my son."

"I will." Atem said as he walked off, and Aknamkanon turned to the villagers.

_This is what we feared._

_The pale face is a demon._

_The only thing they feel at all is greed._

Aknadin painted the faces of the warriors for the coming battle.

_Beneath that milky hide, there's emptiness inside._

"_I wonder if they even bleed!_" A warrior called out.

_They're savages! Savages!_

_Barely even human!_

_Savages! Savages!_

_Killers at the core._

_They're different from us,_

_Which means they can't be trusted!_

_We must sound the drums of war!_

Aknamkanon then had a pair of warriors bring out the white man who killed Seto.

_They're savages! Savages!_

_First we deal with this one!_

_Then we sound the drums of war!_

The settlers began to go off as Pegasus led the way followed by Bakura and Ryou, and Mokuba behind them as he thought about what he'd done again, hating what they were doing now more than the natives.

_Savages! Savages!_

"_Let's go kill a few men!_" Bakura shouted.

_Savages! Savages!_

"_Now it's up to you men!_" Pegasus called out.

_Savages! Savages!_

_Barely even human!_

_Now we sound the drums… Of… War…!_

()()()()()_  
_

Ishizu sat by Grandmother Isis with Joey, Marik, and Kuriboh.

"They're going to kill him at sunrise Grandmother Isis." Ishizu said sadly.

"You have to stop them." Isis said.

"I can't." Ishizu said.

"Child, remember your dream." Isis said.

"I was wrong Grandmother Isis!" Ishizu shouted with tears in her eyes about all the trouble she caused. "I followed the wrong path! I feel so lost."

"Lost?" Marik said as he snapped his fingers and pulled out the compass Kaiba gave him. He had said it was for finding your way when you got lost. He then handed it to Ishizu as she looked down.

"The compass?" Ishizu asked as she looked at it and saw that it was an arrow head nailed to a piece of wood with designs. As she held it, it began to spin. "The spinning arrow."

"It's the arrow from your dream!" Isis said with a smile.

"I was right!" Ishizu said happily. "It was pointing to him!"

Ishizu then felt the wind swirl around her… Embracing her… Like her mother did so many years ago. At that point, Ishizu saw the sun begin to rise up.

"Sun rise!" Ishizu said.

"It's not too late child!" Isis said. "Let the spirits of the Earth guide you!" Then the compass pointed north to where Ishizu knew that murderers were executed. "You know your path, now follow it!"

Ishizu rushed on, followed by Marik, Joey, and Kuriboh.

()()()()()

Pegasus walked forth as his men followed.

"_This will be the day!_" Pegasus called out. "Let's go men!"

Aknamkanon prepared to go to the execution stone.

"_This will be the morning._" Aknamkanon said. "Bring out the prisoner."

_We will see them dying in the dust._

Ishizu then rushed to the rock as fast as her legs could carry her, which thank the spirit was quite fast.

_I don't know what I can do._

_Still I know I've got to try._

The two sides and Ishizu marched, or in Ishizu's case ran, to the same point.

_Now we make them pay! (Eagle help my heart to fly!)_

_Not without a warning! (Mountain help my heart be brave!)_

_Now we leave them blood and bone and dust! (Spirits of the Earth and sky…)_

_They're just… A bunch… Of dirty stinking… (Please don't let it be too late…!)_

_Savages! Savage!_

_Heathens! Devils!_

"_KILL THEM!_" Pegasus called out.

_Savages! Savages!_

_What are we waiting for?_

_Destroy their evil race,_

_Until there's not a trace left!_

_We must sound the drums of war! (How… Loud… Are the drums of war?)_

_Now we see them sentenced!_

_Now we see them silenced!_

Kaiba was pushed onto the rock with his head held down as Aknamkanon raised a large staff as the others watched on in shock and fear.

_Please no death, don't take my love!_

_Carry him from drum enough!_

_WAR!_

"No!" Ishizu said as she rushed forward and shielded Kaiba with her body. "If you kill him, you'll have to kill me too."

"Daughter, stand back." Aknamkanon said calmly.

"I won't!" Ishizu said. "I love him, Father."

Ishizu saw a quick look of surprise cross over her father's face, and Ishizu also heard questioning mutterers from Kaiba's people, probably wondering why Aknamkanon wasn't bringing down the club.

Ishizu saw Atem and Mana arrive with Marik, Joey, and Kuriboh, and they all smiled kindly, with Mana blinking at all the white men.

"Look around you, Father!" Ishizu called out as she felt emboldened by the settlers' uncertainty and her friends' support. "This is where the path of hatred has brought us!" Ishizu then put her head on top of Kaiba's. "This is the path I've chosen Father! What will yours be?"

()()()()()

Aknamkanon looked from the white men preparing to shoot with their weapons of fire and thunder to his own people preparing to shoot with their bows and arrows. Then he felt the wind wrap around him and smiled as he remembered his dearly departed wife. He knew what he had to do. He held up the staff with both hands and saw how some of the white men lowered their weapons as well.

"My daughter speaks with a wisdom beyond her years." Aknamkanon said calmly, but the wind and his high up position allowed all to hear nonetheless. "We have all come here with anger in our hearts, but she comes with courage and understanding. From this day forward, if there is to be more killing, it will not start with me."

Aknamkanon set his staff down as Kaiba and Ishizu stood up.

"Release him." Aknamkanon said.

They then cut Kaiba free of his bonds, and the two embraced and all their friends and family on both sides smiled warmly while most everyone else lowered their weapons completely.

()()()()()

Pegasus looked at all this with confusion. A civilized man falling for these foolish savages? He decided to strike first and ask questions of Kaiba later.

"Now's our chance!" Pegasus said as he drew a sword from his belt. "Fire!"

"No!" Mokuba said as he stepped forward to face Pegasus.

"What?" Pegasus asked.

"They let him go!" Mokuba said.

"They don't want to fight!" Bakura said.

"It's a trick!" Pegasus shouted angrily. How could anyone be so stupid? They were just pretending to be friendly so they could keep his gold! "Don't you see? FIRE!"

No one did a thing as Pegasus held his sword up shakily.

"Fine!" Pegasus said. "I'll settle this myself!"

()()()()()

Kaiba saw Pegasus prepare to shoot and looked at Aknamkanon. If he died, who knew what would happen to the fragile new peace Ishizu had just made. He couldn't put it at risk and did the only thing h could.

"NO!" Kaiba called out as he shoved Aknamkanon away and ended up shot in the chest, dangerously close to his chest.

()()()()()

"SETO!" Mokuba called out.

"NO!" Ishizu called out as Kaiba landed on the ground.

Pegasus then looked nervously at the others.

"You shot him!" Mokuba called out angrily. Now he really knew who the savage, the heathen was! It was Pegasus! His stupid greed for gold and power caused them to spend back-breaking hours digging when there wasn't any gold and then had them fight a peaceful enemy!

"He stepped right…" Pegasus said nervously. "Right into it. It's his own fault."

"Kaiba was right all along!" Bakura spat.

"We never should have listened to you!" Ryou said angrily.

"Get the gun!" Bakura cried out, and they pulled the gun out of Pegasus' hands and restrained him.

"Unhand me!" Pegasus said as Mokuba stood in front of him.

"Put him in chains!" Mokuba said angrily.

"I'll see you all hanged for this!" Pegasus spat.

"And gag him as well!" Mokuba added.

Mokuba then looked up and saw Ishizu and Aknamkanon kneel over the still breathing but immobile Seto.

* * *

Hooray! No war!

Joey: And no Pegasus!

Mana: Yeah, the only downside is Kaiba got shot! … Oh… Poor Ishizu.


	15. Ana For Now

Chapter 15: Ana for Now

As soon as they could, the settlers prepared to take Kaiba home. Bakura volunteered to captain the ship in Kaiba's place while Mokuba would stay to help Ishizu and her family keep things peaceful between the settlers and the natives.

"Do you think he'll make it, Mokuba?" Bakura asked.

"The sooner he gets back to England, the better." Mokuba said.

"Let's hope the wind is with him." Ryou said. He was staying too as he preferred the cleaner air here.

"Is the ship ready yet?" Mokuba asked.

"Any moment now." Bakura said with a smirk. "We just have to load the last bit of cargo."

They then watched in amusement as a chained and gagged Pegasus was tossed into a life boat.

"The nerve!" Pegasus said through his gag. "Untie me at once! I'll have your heads for this!"

"And he came so highly recommended." Weevil said with a sigh.

Kaiba was resting on a stretcher as Mokuba knelt down.

"The ship's almost ready." Mokuba said. "We'd better get you on board before we lose the tide."

"No…" Kaiba said with a slight groan. "Not yet. She said she'd be here."

"There she is." Mokuba said with a smile as Ishizu arrived with her father, her brother, her brother's fiancé, her younger brother, and Joey, who was staying with the natives as he preferred their simpler way of living. Everyone carried food for those who were staying and those who were leaving.

()()()()()

Ishizu then walked to Kaiba as everyone removed their hats.

"Going back is his only chance." Mokuba said. "He'll die if he stays here."

Ishizu put her hand on Mokuba's arm, and he knew she understood. Ishizu then knelt down by Kaiba's side.

"Here." Ishizu said. "It's from the bark of Grandmother Isis' tree. It'll help with the pain."

"What pain?" Kaiba asked with a smile. "I've had worse pain than this… None comes to mind at the moment though."

Aknamkanon then knelt down and put his cloak over him as a gift.

"You are always welcome among our people." Aknamkanon said. "Thank you, my brother."

"I've got a gift too." Atem said as he handed Kaiba a wooden relief carving of himself and Ishizu. "I've always been an artist at heart."

"You should see what he does with baskets." Mana said. "Also, I'm sorry about accidentally ratting you out."

"Eh." Kaiba said. "You couldn't help it. A lot of stuff escapes you when your nerves are stressed. I once told a Spanish Pirate I never dated anyone when he was holding me prisoner."

Kuriboh then showed up and rubbed Kaiba's face affectionately.

"I thought you didn't like strangers." Kaiba said with a smile.

"I guess he doesn't consider you one anymore." Marik said.

"Hey Ishizu, before we forget, we've got a surprise for you!" Joey said with a smile.

"What?" Ishizu asked.

Joey and Marik then pulled out Ishizu's mother's necklace and gave it to her.

"My mother's necklace?" Ishizu asked. "But… How?"

"A whole lotta patience and a whole lotta not sleeping." Joey said. "But I'm okay!"

Joey then passed out.

"Or not." Marik said as Joey suddenly stood up. "He's been doing that all morning."

She then put it on as Kaiba extended his hand.

"See you later, Wheeler." Kaiba said with a smirk.

"I hope so, Kaiba." Joey said. "I've still gotta pay ya back for all those remarks on da boat."

"Hey, I've got something for you, Kaiba." Marik said as he pulled out the last of the biscuits he'd gotten and handed it to Kaiba.

"Thanks." Kaiba said. He then turned to Ishizu. "Come with me?"

Ishizu looked on sadly as she looked at her father.

"You must choose your own path." Aknamkanon said calmly.

Ishizu looked at her people and the settlers, who made two straight lines parallel to each other, and she knew it was her duty to make the two lines blur into one.

"I'm needed here." Ishizu said steadily with tears in her eyes.

"Then I'm staying with you." Kaiba said.

"No." Ishizu said. "You have to go back."

"I can't leave you." Kaiba said, reminding Ishizu of their conversation the previous night.

"You never will." Ishizu said with a smile. "No matter what happens, I'll always be with you, forever."

They then kissed for what seemed to be the last time.

"Oh, now that did it!" Joey said as he cried. "Someone hold me!"

Joey then grabbed Atem and Mana and cried as Mana patted his head.

"Easy there." Mana said. "Easy."

Ryou and Bakura then put Kaiba in the last life boat to the ship.

"Good luck, mate." Ryou said.

"God speed Seto." Mokuba added.

Ishizu then watched Bakura row Kaiba back to the ship. As the ship took off, Ishizu rushed to the ledge she had stood on the day the settlers first came. She ran as fast as she could until she stopped at the cliff and caught sight of Kaiba lying on the main deck. Kaiba then smiled as he did the sign for ana as Ishizu did the same. No matter what happened, even if they never saw each other again, they'd always be with each other in memory and in spirit. The wind blew between them as the ship slowly made its way back to London. Ishizu watched the ship until long after it had disappeared from view.

* * *

That has got to be one of the most powerful Disney endings ever!

Next I'm going back to writing about a certain Dark Magician Girl.

Mana: Who?

Me: You.

Mana: Me?

Me: Yes you.


End file.
